Upscaling systems efficiency through technology

Energy conservation is the effort made to reduce the consumption of energy by using less of an energy service. This can be achieved either by using energy more efficiently or by reducing the amount of service used. Energy conservation is a part of the concept of Eco-sufficiency. In the following Ajit Jainath Singh, Senior Vice President-Sales (Commercial Building Services and Industry), Grundfos India and V D Jhala, Managing Director, Ask Group of Companies give different opinions about the same.

HVAC system for energy saving

When we look at an HVAC system and sustainability and natural systems, we need to have a holistic approach not just in selecting a system but also towards the operation and maintenance of it. Traditionally, if you see, better maintenance and installation of the equipment in an HVAC system has a potential of providing around 3 percent of energy saving, To which Singh says, “The savings can be enhanced if we look from the perspective of pumps. If we follow the prescribed standard procedure in sizing of pumps, it can have a potential of saving around 4 percent of the total energy in the entire equipment.“

The way things are progressing in the area of HVAC systems; we see an increased emphasis on improved and efficient designs for HVAC systems. A thrust is enabled onto it as it has a potential to save energy by up to 10 percent in an HVAC system. He adds, “At some point, in some systems, the energy savings can go beyond the estimated 10 percent. But the scalability depends on how efficiently is your system controlled and maintained, where you don’t leave any individual equipment to function on its own. But it comes as a package where the system integration is done after a thorough understanding so as to control the functions for better and smooth play. We are moving towards such integration for efficient HVAC systems.“

Energy saving equipment in the market 

Singh informs, “Grundfos is known for its energy saving equipment in both industrial and commercial purposes, and some of our products are commonly utilised for both commercial and industrial purposes. For industries, we have advanced products like MAGNA-3 and TP-3 coming into the market. These are specifically designed for industrial heating and cooling processes in both commercial and industries. These pumps are designed to circulate the heating and cooling liquid in the system which can be domestic water air-conditioning or a cooling system. 

The key point to note here is the efficiency index in these kinds of product offerings is 0.23 percent.  If you look at the global standards, the energy efficiency index for such products is around 0.4 percent. One of the main reasons for prescribing a high energy efficiency index for such products is the motor technology we have brought in. These motors are the permanent magnet motors designed under the prescribed standards of IEC Efficiency ratings classified under i5 Class. I4 are referred to as a super premium class, and Grundfos offers products of i5 class and above, which is very well received in the market by all our customers.“

Whereas Jhala talks about Ask Group, who are basically expertise in providing thermal insulation applications as a contractor. “But today, we manufacture insulation products for the industry. We, at Alaska Puf, provide pre-insulated pipes in India. These pre-insulated pipes are the latest inventions in the market and are yet to flourish more in the industry.”

Presently, into this section, we at Ask Group of companies, offer GI cladding, Aluminum Cladding, SS cladding, SS Cladding and HDPE cladding. If we talk about efficiency, pre-insulated pipes attain higher efficiency than the conventional insulation systems. Usually, conventional systems have two half sections and the pipe section, where adhesives, primers are used in most of the sheets and tubing like – nitrile rubber. “These adhesives can compromise with the quality of the insulation material, along with the poor quality of labor application. But with the pre-insulated pipes, all these issues can be avoided and have a smooth and efficient functioning in your systems.”

This is because pre-insulated pipes have PU foams injected in-between the cavity of cladding and pipes directly from the high pressure machines where all the cavities in the system are filled with the PU foam. Because of this, we can attain highest efficiency in insulation for an HVAC system.  

Products for improving efficiency

Electrical energy is universally accepted as an essential commodity for human beings. Energy is the prime mover of economic growth and is vital to the sustenance of a modern economy. Future economic growth crucially depends on the long-term availability of energy from sources. Different products can be used to improve efficiency, for which  Singh explains, “In terms of efficient products with integrated technology, Grundfos has been actively involved in promoting its iSOLUTIONS. iSOLUTIONS are basically the intelligent pump with integrated controls. They are also a part of our digitalisation strategy and we are aiming to promote it in the market as these pumps analyse the required pressure flow in the system and adapt it accordingly. 

This dynamic system ensures that the pump system operates at their best efficiency and the energy consumption is optimised. This not only leads to the improved operational efficiency on cost savings but also enhances the life shell of pumps. 

Talking from the system control perspective, we have a distributed pumping system, which is one of the latest technologies that goes to the air-conditioning for industrial and commercial premises; and Grundfos is trying to boost the distributed pumping systems technology in the market. 

The best feature of these distributed pumps is – they are completely demand driven, it ensures that we have minimum pressure in the chilled water circuit; it also improves life of the equipment whilst reducing the frictional loss. “  Jhala discusses what his company has to offer to the market by talking about, “ We have a distribution system for efficient insulation in HVAC systems. We keep talking about the efficiency of a system or energy saving of a system, but we ignore the essential part of installation. Efficiency: the product’s efficiency also depends on the installation. Any product, any insulation not installed in the required way, the required efficiency can never be attained in any system.  Moreover these pre-insulated pipes are easily installed into a system as the joints of these pipes need careful installation, and do not contain any adhesives; it also requires minimum site installation work, so definitely it does save energy. We also provide a readymade kit for the installation.“

Energy-efficient equipment in industries 

It is an important aspect if talking about energy efficiency, for industries to accept and adapt all the measures to incur it. So, to sum up Grundfoss’s stand Singh says, “ I think energy saving is the talk of the town and is being addressed by almost every sector across the globe. In fact, Grundfos is a signatory to the UN’s SDG 6 and 13 goals. Also, it’s evident that India has been actively engaging in taking initiatives to reduce the energy consumption. So, I think the industry, market players and the customers are aware of the challenges, due to which people are also looking for innovative ideas, solutions and technologies which will further let them reduce their energy consumption. There’s already a wide acceptance towards energy efficiency, as our iSOLUTIONS are widely acknowledged by our consumers and customers in both industrial and commercial purposes. In fact, despite the present pandemic situation across the globe our product category sale has jumped by 100 percent.’’ Whereas  Jhala believes that, “people are shifting towards more efficient products and technologies. It’s high time for us to remain efficient. So, we must shift from the conventional to thed pre-insulated pipes as they are highly efficient in terms of savings and smooth functioning. India still lags in terms of acceptance for efficient insulation systems, whereas a lot of other countries have termed it as a standard insulated system in a system.”

Energy conservation is cost effective with a short payback period and modest investment. Progressive planning and appropriate implementation of energy-efficient products and solutions by the HVAC industry, can conserve up to 40 percent of the total energy consumed in both commercial and industrial premises. In fact, HVAC is coupled with some alternative options that can also be considered while the initial selection of HVAC systems. An in depth analysis would be highly recommended to avoid shedding surplus cost in installing energy-efficient equipment.

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We must shift from the conventional to thed pre-insulated pipes as they are highly efficient in terms of savings and smooth functioning.

V D Jhala, Managing Director, Ask Group of Companies 

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It’s evident that India has been actively engaging in taking initiatives to reduce the energy consumption.

Ajit Jainath Singh, Senior Vice President-Sales (Commercial Building Services and Industry), Grundfos India

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